On Tuesday
morning I went to see Mr. Coffin who stays at his brother in laws Mr. Summers
he was not at home when I called but Mrs. & [Midsn] Summer were.I left the parcel & letter
promising to call again in the afternoon.Went in the afternoon & saw both Mr. Coffin & Mr. Summer.Mr. C is a very pleasant and very
cleaver man & all the family have been very kind to me.Mr. & Mrs. Summer bought and had
made up my sheets, pillow cases & towels.Mrs. Summer made them.Mr. Coffin assisted me in buying mattress & Pea Jacket.I dined with them on Wednesday and
supped there last evening.

Commod. Morris
invited me to dine with him on Thursday last.I went there, in full dress, and found Lieutenant Dale of
the Peacock Mdsn Brent & Crawford also of the P-K, 3 Surgeons attached to
the yard and vessels, all in full uniform.Commod was also in full dress, Mrs. Morris and two of her
daughters made the company very agreeable.

Last evening I
went to Mr. Everetts, to a family party, there were of all ages, boy &
girls, gentlemen & ladies.I
was obliged to leave them early as the gate of the yard is closed at ½
past ten (5 bells).

On Wednesday
Evening I left the Fremont House & came aboard this vessel where I will
remain until the Commodore orders us on the Boxer.I put my mattress in a cot & sling it up to the ceiling
(or rather a boy does it), where I sleep very comfortable.A cot is made of stuff similar to the
sacking – bottoms being raised at the head, side & feet.A hammock is made of the same material,
shaped like a bag, no room to turn around.We live very comfortable here, in the mess, Hazard Greenwood,
Gee, Prentiss belonging to this Ship & Brown, Crawford for the Peacock and
myself Mdn Hurst, Parrott & DeCamp have reported for the Boxer but stay in
Boston.

The box is 93
feet long & 24 feet 8 in beam.Tonnage 170 tons Length of the steerage (our apartment) 6 ft 8 inHeight 5 ft 6:there are 4 berths, two on each side, 6
ft long and 22 inches wide.The
lockers are under the seats running fore and aft large enough to hold all my
clothes.The entrance to the
spirits room is in the center of the steerage, & will be a great deal of
inconvenience to us, every time they want grog they will have to come
into our residence.But take it on
the whole it is the best fitted up Vessel in the Navy.She will have 3 lieutenants 6 middies
& 80 or 90 men.Commod Morris
thinks she will not sail for 3 months & this morning Capt Abbot com¹dg this
ship, ordered us youngsters, to be upon duty here until we go aboard the Boxer.

Sunday morning 5 bells (1/2 past 10)

I left off
last night about 5 bells & turned in. every morning at 8 bells the cot boys come downcall us, we turn out and they take the
cots up on deck, where they remain until 8 bells in the evening when they bring
them down & sling them up, at that time all the lights & fires are put
out & the men turn in.

I must explain
to you the way we count time here.At ½ past 8 o¹clock in the morning, they strike one bell, (by the
glass) at 9.2 bells at ½
9.3 bells and so on until 12
o¹clock, which is 8 bells at ½ past 12, they commence one bell and etc.
until 4 o¹clock which is 8 bells also, then 1 bell & so on.

This morning
at 2 bells ( 9 o¹clock) the men were mustered & marched to church which is
held in the Sail Loft, at the time of muster Captn Abbot, told all those who
wanted their grog stopped & take pay for it to step forward, out of 80 men
I believe but one stopped his grog:In our mess we have not a drop of Liquor of any kind nor do we intend to
have any.

If you can
find the Phil Gazette of July which contains the story of a midshipman¹s life,
please send it on.

After sunset
no officer is permitted to pass from the ship or out of the yard, without
giving the watch word.None of the
men are permitted to leave the ship or yard unless in company with an officer
to pass them out.We have to
trudge to the gate 6 or 7times
every evening through the snow, to pass the men out.It has snowed almost every day since I have been here it is
now more than a foot deep.